A guest article by the Kevyteam. Kevy is your all-in-one ecommerce marketing platform. They integrate with hundreds of ecommerce platforms to help create more powerful, personalized marketing for every customer.

If you are like many online retailers, driving traffic to your site is on the top of your marketing to-do list.

In fact, you have probably tried dozens, if not hundreds, of methods to expand your reach and find untapped markets.

There are plenty of articles and experts giving advice on which channels drive the best traffic, but they all tend to miss one key component of a successful ecommerce marketing strategy – what happens once those new visitors land on your store?

That may seem like a simple question, but your answer could make or break your growth strategy.

Retailers spend thousands of dollars on personalizing every aspect of outreach – from retargeting, to customized Facebook and Instagram ads, or even targeted social media campaigns.

But then, the personalization ends.

Too often retailers focus 99% of their efforts on increasing traffic, and put little effort into creating a memorable experience once the new visitor lands on their site.

Ask yourself - are you capturing visitor’s emails? Are you offering help if they need it? Are you following up? Are you treating new visitors the same way you are treating loyal customers?

In the tips below, we will tackle all of these questions to help you come up with a personalized on-site strategy that converts.

1.Capture Those Emails

The first step to increasing conversions is to be sure you have a way to capture emails once a new visitor lands on your site. Bounce rates are high for new visitors, so it is important to get to know them before they leave.

Visitors leave for a variety of reasons, not just because they are uninterested in your offerings. Maybe their boss walked in so they had to close their browser, maybe they were confused by a product and need more info, or maybe they simply got busy but plan to return later.

No matter what the reason, you have a huge opportunity to send them personalized messages that bring them back. But first - you have to know who they are.

One of the fastest ways to capture their info is through a popup. Popups can be extremely powerful, especially if you have a strategy in place.

So here are a few thoughts on using popups the right way. And remember – the goal is not just to grow your list, but to create a personalized shopping experience for every visitor.

2. Timing

As soon as a new visitor lands on your site, you need to show them you are glad they came without scaring them off.

Think about how this works in your own experience when you shop at a physical store. If you walk into a new store and the clerk immediately runs over to ask if they can help you find something – you probably shut down the dialogue quickly with ‘No, just browsing’.

But, if the same clerk instead simply welcomes you and lets you browse a bit, you will be far more receptive to their help once you have had a chance to see their items and know what they offer.

The same is true online. Studies show you can dramatically increase conversions when you wait until a visitor lands on the 2nd or 3rd page before asking for their email.

By that time, the visitor may have seen something they like, so they are more willing to exchange their precious email for your offer.

Quick Tip – Platforms like Kevy give you access to all of the popup settings above and even ties conversions to revenue so you know exactly how much your popups are bringing to your store.

3. Audience

I am an avid online shopper so have seen my share of the best and the worst of popups. One of my most common complaints is when I see the same popup every time I visit a store.

You’ve probably seen this too. When you land on your favorite store and yet still receive the same “Welcome, give us your email now” popup - even though you have given your email a dozen times before.

How do they not know you by now? And why does it seem they care way more about new visitors than they do their loyal customers?

This is exactly why audience-based popups are game-changers for online retailers.

Audience-based popups let you show a unique message to each group of visitors based on their purchase history, interests or even page views.

So, lets take a look at a few ways you can use audience-based popups in your ecommerce marketing campaigns.

1. New Visitors Popup:

Create an email-capture popup to show only to anonymous visitors that come from your outreach campaigns. This way none of your existing, loyal customers will be asked for their email…again.

Remember to set an autoresponder to send a Welcome Email to anyone that signs up. You may want to include a coupon that they can use at a later date – in case they are not ready to buy today.

Decide when you want it to show – ie: 1st page vs 3rd page.

Launch it on your site and watch your conversions grow.

2. Existing Customers Popup:

Show your existing customers you care by creating an offer unique to them.

Try a ‘Welcome Back’ popup that shows off your new collection. Or show a “Thanks for Your Loyalty” popup to your most valuable customers.

This will make your best customers feel valued which translates into greater loyalty to your brand.

Quick Tip: If your popup solution is tied to your Shopify cart, then you can set highly customized rules to make each popup unique. Activate a popup after someone spends a certain dollar value, looks at a particular product, or even based on where they live.

4. Have a Follow-Up Plan

Now that you have increased your traffic, and implemented a way to capture new visitor’s emails, it is time to create a follow-up plan.

If a visitor leaves your store before ordering, you have a small window to recapture their attention and remind them of why they should return.

In fact, a recent study of nearly 56 million ecommerce website visitors found that “ if you can increase pages viewed and time on site it will push up your conversion rate notably.”

So that is what we aim to do – bring your visitors back and get them browsing.

First and foremost, be sure you have a plan to communicate with every new sign-up within 1 week of their first visit.

Step 2 is to be sure you have a few key trigger campaigns activated to personalize their experience.

You can use basic email marketing for step one, but it is important that you add a true marketing automation tool to achieve step 2 well.

If you are not sure what to look for in a marketing automation tool, be sure the platform can at least combine order and behavior data gained from your Shopify store for every customer.

This will help you automate personalization rather than doing everything manually. (Which is great news for us busy marketers).

Here are a few ideas for getting started with personalized trigger campaigns:

Browse Abandon - Create a trigger to send an email providing more information if a customer look at a particular product or category several times without buying.

Cart Recovery - This is basic but can go a long way for new visitors that need a little extra nudge to make their first purchase.

You May Also Like - Build a trigger series to send an email of recommended products based simply on what the new visitor has looked at.

Thank you and Win Back - This is important for new visitors and loyal customers. Show your customers you are grateful for their order and you are there if they need anything else. Then set in place a multi-touch series to connect again if they haven’t returned in 60-90 days after their last purchase.

5. Give It A Try

As you can see – increasing traffic is important, but don’t fall into the new-traffic rut. Remember that driving traffic to your store is only as good as your plan to convert and engage them.

From the first time someone sees your ad, to the time they become a loyal customer, be sure your marketing strategy personalizes their entire shopping experience.

And if you put in the effort to get to know your customers, they will be far more likely to keep their business with you in the long run.

Enjoy, and for more tips and tricks on how Marketing Automation can help your Shopify store see even greater results – check out Kevy and how we can help!

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